Keith Fuller: Lawn caterpillars creeping

To everything there is a season and we seem to be approaching the season for lawn caterpillars. In the past week, every time I walk through a lawn, moths fly up. These could be the adult stage of sod webworms, army worms, cutworms or grass loopers.

Lawn caterpillars can cause damage by chewing on grass blades.

With enough damage the blades turn brown and die thus creating a conspicuous spot in the lawn.

Sod webworms and cutworms feed at night while army worms and loopers feed during daylight. To monitor for these caterpillars, you should look for tattered grass blades.

To confirm suspicions of their presence, you can mix one tablespoon of liquid dishwashing soap to a gallon of water and pour onto a four square foot area.

Insects will crawl to the surface within five minutes if present.

If you are noticing unacceptable amounts of damage to your lawn by caterpillars, there are spray or granular products that you can apply to gain control. Often times the soap flush that is used for detection may kill enough caterpillars to give acceptable control.